A butterfly flutters over the river A butterfly flutters over the river is a uniquely flavorful dish specially prepared to entertain relatives and distinguished guests by the people of Heshan Lake Country in Yiyang. This dish is made from a special type of fish unique to the Dongting Lake area called caiyu. The preparation method is as follows: first, take about one kilogram of caiyu, chop off its head and tail, gut and scale it, remove the bones and spines, then slice it into thin…
Shrimp and Chili Paste, known as 虾米辣椒糊, is a beloved home-style dish among farmers in Heshan Lake Village. It boasts a perfect balance of sour, sweet, fresh, spicy, aromatic, and vibrant colors, delivering an exceptionally delicious and refreshing taste that stimulates the appetite. The farming households of Heshan have been preparing this chili paste as a dish for over a thousand years. It serves as a convenient and flavorful meal during the autumn, winter, and off-seasons when fresh vegetables are scarce. Its origin…
Fermented Tofu with Winter Bamboo Shoots 【Dish Name】 Fermented Tofu with Winter Bamboo Shoots 【Cuisine】 Hunan Cuisine 【Characteristics】 Crisp, refreshing, and delicious, with a rich aroma of fermented tofu. 【Ingredients】 200g winter bamboo shoots, 10g fermented tofu sauce, 2g monosodium glutamate, 2g salt, a little oil. 【Preparation】 Slice the winter bamboo shoots, heat a little oil in a pan…
【Dish Name】 Old Ginger Chicken 【Cuisine】 Hunan Cuisine 【Characteristics】 Tender meat with a rich ginger aroma. 【Ingredients】 Ingredients: 500g chicken thigh, 10g wood ear mushrooms, 6g salt, 2g pepper, 2g MSG, 20g ginger slices, oil, sesame oil, cornstarch, and an appropriate amount of chicken stock. 【Preparation Process】…
Legend has it that Yiyang paper umbrellas originated from Lu Yun, the sister of Lu Ban. Produced in Yiyang, they incorporate various techniques such as color painting, oil painting, and double-layer floral designs. Flowers, fish, insects, birds, and other creatures come to life on the umbrella surface, vivid and lifelike, yet lightweight and delicate. These umbrellas not only provide protection against rain and sun but are also exquisite works of art. …
The Ming Oil Paper Umbrella is a traditional and renowned product of Yiyang County through the ages. Alongside small Yuyu bamboo crafts, it was once presented as tribute to the imperial capital, boasting a long history and widespread fame. The paper umbrellas are made from locally abundant materials such as nanmu bamboo, pine wood, and mulberry bark. The umbrella surface is soaked in tung oil and crafted through seventy meticulous processes. Tung oil is also known as "ming oil," hence the name "Ming Oil Paper Umbrella."
The "Zhixi Chunlv" series of green tea is a natural, green tea product developed and produced by the Heyetang Tea Factory in Nijiangkou Town, Yiyang City. It is a winner of the "China Tea Cup" award at the National "Double New" Tea Evaluation Conference and has received multiple provincial and ministerial-level honors. Renowned tea expert Professor Chen Xingyan praised its qualities as: beautiful shape, green infusion, high fragrance, mellow taste, and emerald color…
Guo Laoguan’s scraped cold noodles are a traditional street snack in Yiyang. Made from broad bean flour, they are a refreshing favorite during the summer heat. Guo Laoguan takes great care in making his scraped cold noodles—he uses high-quality broad beans to grind into a fine paste. First, he mixes the smooth, white bean powder with cool boiled water to form a thick batter...
Guo Laoguan's White Rice Balls are small, round rice tofu balls made by grinding rice into a paste and stirring it into a batter. Originally, they were just an ordinary street snack in Yiyang. In the early 1980s, after meticulous research and refinement by Guo Laoguan, they became a distinctive local specialty and a renowned flavor snack in Yiyang. The ingredients used by Guo Laoguan in making White Rice Balls...
Lanxi Beef Offal Stew Lanxi is the breadbasket of Yiyang and a small riverside cattle market. After each autumn harvest, farmers bring their retired plow oxen to town for slaughtering and trading. The prime cuts are sent to cities for sale, while most of the offal is kept to be processed and eaten at home. Years of practice have given the people of Lanxi exceptional skill in cooking and preparing beef offal…
In 1910 (the second year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty), Jiang Hengshou, the founder of Jiang Yongshou Hall, created a "Fattening Children's Cake" using high-quality rice flour, white sugar, and pediatric tonic sugar. It had a fragrant, sweet taste, was easy to digest, and also helped nourish children and expel parasites. As a breast milk substitute, it became very popular. Major food workshops in Changsha competed to imitate and produce it, making it one of the staple products in the pastry industry…
Xikou boasts picturesque scenery; Xishí stones are imbued with mystery and wonder; Xixian inkstones are exquisitely beautiful. Recently, the Guofan Xixian Inkstones produced by Shuangfeng County Guofan Xixian Inkstone Craft Co., Ltd. were recognized as “China’s Most Collectible Cultural Handicraft” by the China (Cross-Strait Three Regions) Tourism Exchange Promotion Association and the China Brand Promotion and Communication Center. Xixian inkstones—these time-honored treasures of Hunan culture—have been revitalized under the dedicated efforts of several local farmer-entrepreneurs in Xikou Village, Xingzipu Town, Shuangfeng County, shining with renewed brilliance.
Shuangfeng’s Soft-Melting Citrus Cake is made from high-quality citrus fruits. After sorting, peeling, pressing, deseeding, soaking, steaming, and coating, the cake features an evenly thick layer of white fuzz. When pressed with a finger, it leaves a clear imprint. It has a sweet, delicate taste and melts in your mouth—hence the name. The Soft-Melting Citrus Cake also offers medicinal benefits such as preventing diarrhea, regulating qi, relieving coughs, benefiting the spleen and lungs, and treating bronchitis…
The Shuangfeng County Yongfeng Lantern Chili is large, thick-fleshed, and has tiny seeds. Its shape resembles a lantern, and its flavor is slightly sweet with a spicy kick. It aids digestion, stimulates appetite, regulates bodily secretions, and promotes metabolism, making it an ideal seasoning and a delicious, high-quality vegetable. The Yongfeng Lantern Chili is typically sown around the beginning of the Lunar New Year, nurtured in a warm bed for two months, and transplanted in March…
Wuwei Fragrant Dried Tofu is made from high-quality soybeans sourced from the Yongfeng area. The beans are shelled, soaked, ground into pulp, filtered, steamed to a yellowish hue, blended, molded, and pressed. Then, chili powder, chili oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, and salt are evenly sprinkled on top before the tofu undergoes continuous baking for 24 hours. It offers a perfect balance of five flavors—spicy, sweet, salty, fragrant, and savory—and is believed to aid in weight loss, lower blood lipids…
Yongfeng Chili Sauce is produced in Yongfeng Town, Shuangfeng County. It uses a locally grown variety of thick-fleshed, sweet-and-spicy lantern chili as the main ingredient, mixed with a certain proportion of wheat, soybeans, and glutinous rice. The sauce is made using traditional recipes and scientific methods through sun-drying. It boasts a bright color, delicious taste, a sweet spiciness, and a fragrant, appetizing flavor. It aids digestion, strengthens the spleen…
Main ingredients: Skin-on pork belly, eggs, breadcrumbs Preparation: First, wash the pork belly and boil it until half-cooked. Then cut it into thin slices about 5 cm long, 3 cm wide, and 0.4 cm thick. Place the slices in a bowl and mix with salt, MSG powder, chicken essence, egg yolk, custard powder, Guangdong rice wine, and dry starch until evenly coated. Roll the slices in breadcrumbs. In a wok, pour in pl...
Main ingredients: Select water buffalo blood, thick beef tripe, and yellow cattle tenderloin. Preparation: Slice the beef horizontally without removing the black skin of the tripe. Wash all ingredients, then stir-fry the beef and tripe over high heat in hot oil. Add glutinous rice wine, ginger, and red chili powder before removing from the pan. Briefly stir-fry the beef blood, then add the stir-fried beef and tripe, pour in boiling water, and cook...
When it comes to chili sauce, Yongfeng Chili Sauce from the Yongfeng Town area of Shuangfeng County is the most famous. The main ingredients of Yongfeng Chili Sauce are locally grown fresh red chilies, wheat, soybeans, glutinous rice, and others. After going through processes such as washing, chopping, stirring, drying, and canning in jars, it is made into Yongfeng Chili Sauce. The sauce is generally packed in round clay jars that are 12 centimeters high…
Legend has it that during the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong traveled to the south of the Yangtze River and passed through Zouma Street in Shuangfeng. There, he tasted the local restaurant’s “spinach water tofu soup” and was quite impressed. Upon returning to the capital, he asked his imperial chefs to recreate the dish, but none could replicate it. He then ordered an attendant to revisit Zouma Street along the same route. The attendant returned with a dried tofu that was convenient for travel, which earned high praise from the emperor. Since then…